Speed-change indicator for vehicles



II. REKERSDHES.

SPEED CHANGE INDICATOR FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILEDJUNEI3.1'919.

IPIIIEIIIGIII EIIIIy 6 WEIL IN" mf" III? lll ll lllWlTED tartar evtl will will' lll' Application tiled .lune l3,`

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that ll, ll-lnivnr Rnirnnsnnns, a citizen olf the United States, residing,M at De troit, county ot llayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain nea7 and useful llmorovernent in tlpeedhange llndicators ior Tchicles, and declare the following to be a speed ot said vehicle by observing,r the marker of the device.

@ne object et the invention is to provide i' a device simple in construction and operation, which will effectively andV automatitlll -illlll cally indicate to the driver ot a vehicle iollowing ol any change in speed oit the first or leading; vehicle, 1n order that the second vehicle may not collide with the lirst vehicle should the latter come to a sudden stop;-the marker carrying lights 'that it may be readily seen aty night.

nother object ot the invention is to simultaneously indicate any change in speed ol theV vehicle on `which it is `installed in a positive, clear and reliable manner; by night or day, so as to enable the driver ol a vehicle tollovvinp1 to Lgovern himself accord ingly that he may avoid accidental injury to liiinsel'l' or others, and of property. l

it. .further object ol the invention is that the action oil? the device shall be entirely au tomatic and dependent only upon the inoveu nient ci the vehicle.

llllith the loregoing and other objects in vievvwhich will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement ct parts and 'in the details oli construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes may be inade in the precise embodiment herein disclosed, without departinp,l from the spirit oi? the invention.

ln the drawings, acconipanyinp,` this speci tication Figure l is a rear elevation oit an autcino- Specification ol Letters lllatent.

lllatented duly tl, ltlkrd.

isis. serial no. acatar..

Fig'. 3 is an elevation of the deviceat right angles to Fig. 2.

ll 1g. l is a horizontal sectional vienr on line t-l oi' Fig. 2. llefferringnow to the letters ci reference placed upon the drawings?- lli, denotes a supporting;f tralnc in which 1s journaled a bevel gear ll, in mesh with a relatively smaller gear C, also journaled in the iframe. y l

tiecured to the outside of the larger gear is a depending rod or lever D, with a Weight lll, attached to its lower end by means ol a set screvv l?. I

rllo the gear C, is secured a tilting;

marker rllie marker consists of two disks ll, and l, (which may bedill'erentlv colored il desired) secured to the arm vl, which is in turn attached to the gear tl. lt, are electric lamp bulbs carried by the d'slrs ll, and l, and are connected with a source olf` electrical energy (not shown).

llaving1 indicated the several parts by reierence letters, the construction and op 'a tion ol2 my invention lwill be readily under-- stood.

lll7 hen the vehicle is stationary, gravity acting upon the Weight ll, causes the rod or lever ll, to hang vertically, the inarlrer (l, assnining'a horizontal position when the e iveiegli't lever ll., is vertical.

i ll pon the vehicle moving in a forward di rection, the inertia oil the ive" ht causes its lever to swine; in an are, corni. "lor which .also the direction oit rol by thep'ear ll, to which the weight lever is attached.

.latter 2gear is thereby rotatcifl cansinp; it. id the marker il, secured 'tlierete to move in a clockwise direction, the a el rn tation oli the inarlrer beine; @rea il than 'the angle el' the Weight lever in the .ratio ol3 the diameter ot' the large gear to the diameter el the smaller gear. i

ill-.s soon as uniilforrn motion is attained. the alicell-.rati on being reduced to nero, the vvelpgh t lever again assumes a vertical position.. ie outward appearance oit the device bei.` the saine as when the vehicle is at "lrcs'tw and nni'lforin motion indications, as given by the device, are identical.

its the vehicle slot-vs down,M the vvcipbt l, roes l'orward, giving; a clockwise rotative movementto tbe ,dear ll, and. a cor.

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Il tl tl l. 'l ll quent counter-clockwise rotative movement to the gear C. When the vehicle comes to a stop, the at rest indications will again obtain.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is '1. In a device of the character described, a movable mass adapted for attachment to a vehicle and to change its position due to the movement of the vehicle and the increas ing or diminishing motion of acceleration of the latter, and an independently pivoted indicator operatively connected With said movable mass and consisting of a bar provided at its ends With separate indicating means to indicate to persons remote from the vehicle the direction of and the proportional magnitude of the increasing or decreasing acceleration of the vehicle.

2. In a device of the character described, a movable mass adapted to changeiits position due to the movement of a vehicle and the increasing or decreasing motion or acceleration of the latter, a marker or indicator consisting of a bar provided with terminal indicating means and arranged at right angles to the plane of and connected with the said movable mass to indicate the direction of and the proportional magnitude of the increasing or decreasing acceleration of the vehicle, and means for illuminating said marker or indicator.

3. In a speed change indicating device for vehicles, a frame adapted for attachment to a vehicle, a Weighted lever pivotally suspended from the frame and adapted to oscillate in a direction longitudinally of the vehicle, a tilting indicator consisting of a bar provided at its ends Withindicating means and normally arranged horizontally transversely of the vehicle, and means connecting the lever and indicator whereby the motion due to the oscillation of the said lever is transmitted in amplified magnitude to the tilting indicator.

et. Ina speed change indicating device l`or vehicles, a Weighted lever', a speed change marker consisting of a bar pivoted intermcr diate of its ends and provided with terminal indicating means and connected with the said lever, said bar being adapted to be actuated by the lever upon the inertia of the same being overcome through an increasing or decreasing motion of' the acceleration o the vehicle..

'5. In a speed change indicating device ot the character described, a supporting frame, intermeshing gears of relatively dilfercnt diameter journaled in said frame, a lever suspended from one of said gears, a weight attached to the ends of the lever, and a tilt ing device secured to the other gear adapted to indicate by day or night a. change in the speed oiE the vehicle upon which it is installed due to the oscillation ol the swinging lever.

G. In a device of the character described, a frame adapted to be secured to the rear of a vehicle, a Weighted lever pivotally suspended from said frame to swing at the rear of the vehicle according to the movement of the vehicle and the increasing or decreasing' motion of acceleration of the lattei', a tiltingr indicator consisting oll a liar pivoted between its ends and provided with terminal indicating means, and arranged normally in a horizontal position at the rear of the vehicle and operatively connected to said lever to indicate the direction ot and the proportional magnitude ot the increasing or decreasing acceleration of the vchicle so that an approximate. indication ot change of speed is given to persons outside the vehicle.

In testimony ivh'ereof, I sign this specilication in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY RICKICRSDRES.

Witnesses S. E. THOMAS, JoHN CoNsInINE, Jr. 

